by Price,E A
By now Twenty-Six was already teasing Gracchus about TV shows she had already watched, and he was growling at her not to ruin the endings for him. Kylie was engaged in a conversation with Bea and Gustave while Lief listened with interest as they spoke about their plans for waking the other gargoyles. Tristan was eating all the onion rings he could find. Ingrede and Cai were chatting and perhaps even flirting – if gargoyles could flirt – while they tried to feed Wolfe. Or rather while they tried to stop Wolfe from eating everything in sight – cheeseburgers and cheese fries were apparently a big hit with the youngling. Luc was arguing about something with Ric while Brenda listened and teased her mate intermittently. Drago continued to glower in his own private world.
Annis stared at her clenched fists in her lap. Her broken wing twitched painfully and her cheek ticked.
“Something wrong?” asked Chris lowly from across the table.
She looked up in shock. So used to being ignored, overlooked, forgotten, she assumed nobody was interested in what she was doing. “I… ah…”
“Is it your leg?” For a moment a fierce look of protectiveness flashed across his features.
Truthfully, she had not even thought about her leg since he wrapped it in plastic earlier. It tingled, but not from the burn. No, she had his soft touch to thank for that. She had never been touched in that way before, and it was so tender and surprising.
“No, I am fine,” she said quietly.
His face did not soften. “You looked like you were in pain.”
“I was,” Annis blurted and then remembered that she was not supposed to talk about her wing. Something her mother insisted on when Annis tried to tell her how much pain the broken wing caused her. You were born wrong, Annis, her mother told her, do not shame me more by calling attention to it. But her mother was not here. But did Annis really want to draw attention to it? Humans would already consider her a freak; they did not need to know she was a malfunctioning freak.
“It is nothing.”
Chris watched her for a few moments and decided not to pursue the matter. “In a few more hours you can have some more ibuprofen.”
Annis nodded. She did not like to say it, but she doubted the pills he gave her would make any difference. Only magic could help magical creatures.
He looked down. “I wish I could take you to a hospital.” A note of frustration entered his voice.
“Maybe one day, things will be different,” she murmured.
As he looked up, his eyes flickered with something she couldn’t identify. Could it be that he also lamented the situation? Did he wish she could walk out into the world with him, too? Or was that too much to hope for?
Annis passed the rest of her hamburger to Bob, who eagerly lapped up the treat.
Chapter Seven
Chris told Luc about Melissa’s upcoming visit. Luc grunted but did not seem overly concerned.
“I do not see it will be an issue. I will ensure that none of my gargoyles take to the skies that night.”
Chris nodded and stared out into the garden where a few of the males were fighting and joking with one another. “Have you heard anything from Blackthorne?”
“No, no one acting under his direction has approached the house.”
“I haven’t seen anything suspicious in town either – but maybe they’re just getting better at hiding and blending into crowds.” The last lot stomped around in black clothes, combat boots, and miserable scowls – they stuck out like sore thumbs amongst the tourists.
“This Agent Sanchez, does she have any reason to come to this house?”
“No, I can’t see that she does. All she knows is that a couple of drunk tourists thought they saw something in the sky.”
Luc narrowed his eyes. “You trust her? You trust she is not working for Blackthorne or someone like him?”
“Yes, without a doubt,” Chris answered immediately. Melissa was as straight as the day was long.
“Then I will not worry about her.”
“But you worry about Blackthorne?” Chris couldn’t deny that he’d endured a few sleepless nights worrying that Blackthorne might send mercenaries to the mansion to kill all the gargoyles. His insides squeezed painfully at the thought of Annis getting hurt. What if they turned up in the daytime to smash her to smithereens?!
“I worry because I do not know what he wants from my people or me. His family members have always been acolytes of Morgan Le Fay, and her wish was to rule the world with magic. Perhaps that is what he wishes too, and to use gargoyles as soldiers.”
Chris snorted. “No offense but that’s a pretty tall order. You guys are tough, but I can’t see you standing up to automatic weapons.”
Luc’s face tightened. “No, indeed. Perhaps that was the purpose of the experiments they were doing that resulted in Twenty-Six.”
“Bullet-proof gargoyles?”
He rolled his enormous shoulders. “Perhaps. Twenty-Six could only glean that they wanted gargoyles that would not be forced to sleep during the day. Their other purposes in creating her and her late kin are still a mystery.”
“At least that doctor won’t be creating any more gargoyles.” Chris didn’t think he’d forget the sight of the doctor getting fried on his own electrified fence.
“No, but we do not know if Blackthorne has found a replacement for him, and we still do not know if he has any more gargoyles hidden somewhere for his experiments. He used live gargoyles to create Twenty-Six and unless they are dead, they are out there somewhere.”
“I can ask some old colleagues in the Portland PD to do a little digging. Maybe even Sanchez could poke around.” Luc looked at him, and Chris held up his hands. “You can trust her, I swear.”
He nodded and grunted.
“You think Blackthorne fancies himself as ruler of the world?” An incredible, almost cartoonish goal, but given how the world was changing, perhaps not completely out of the way.
Luc huffed. “Perhaps, although I doubt he has enough power. If he did, he would be able to wake the gargoyles himself.”
Chris nodded and looked at his watch. “I better get Brenda home.”
“She would be welcome to stay here.”
Yeah, she’d love that he thought in irritation. “She’s a teenage girl; she needs some boundaries. I let her stay here, she’d never do her homework and never finish school.”
“That may be true, but having more females around helps calm the males somewhat.”
“Too much testosterone, huh?” Chris chuckled.
Luc gave him a blank look. “Having her and Kylie around is perhaps useful in reminding the males that there is hope that they may be able to mate with a human also. Of the unmated gargoyles, there are only two females to six males, and Twenty-Six behaves in a more human manner than gargoyle. It is,” he thought about the next word carefully before deciding on, “concerning.”
Chris didn’t say anything. He thought of Annis surrounded by the enormous, single male gargoyles of her clan and his chest constricted.
“Perhaps I worry for nothing,” said Luc. “Maggie and Andrew are returning tomorrow with a new gargoyle, and two more puzzles are almost unlocked. Perhaps they will all be females.”
“The professor sure didn’t make things easy for you.”
“No, but if the puzzles had been easy to decipher, then my brothers and sisters would already be lost.”
Chris left him on that maudlin note, and Luc grunted a goodbye. He had to drag Brenda home; she was annoyed about not getting more time with Ric – but given that it was a school night…
As they drove the short distance home, Brenda regaled him with the stories Ric had told her, unaware of his dangerous mood. He could not stand to hear of Ric the almighty gargoyle at the best of times. Now, he was considering the fact that there was the possibility that six male gargoyles each viewed Annis as the only female in the world.
*
“How is your leg, dear?” asked Bea.
Annis gazed down at her pla
stic wrapped appendage and gave it a wiggle. “It feels fine. I think it will heal while I sleep.”
“I’m sorry I can’t heal magical creatures, only humans. But I’m glad Chris was here to take care of you. He is a kind man.”
Annis blushed, remembering the feel of his skin against hers. She drew her wings closer around her body. “Yes. Why is he not mated?” she blurted.
Bea blinked at her. “I believe he was married, but his wife died a few years ago. I am not sure about the circumstances, but I don’t think he dates much if at all.”
“Oh.” Annis stroked her hands up and down her wings, a nervous habit. “Perhaps she was his true mate, and he cannot bear to be with another.”
“Perhaps. Although, true mates are supposed to be imbued with magic. I don’t think Chris has any magic, and I think he would have told us if his wife did.”
She thought of Chris, pining for his late wife – undoubtedly beautiful and perfect in every way, just the female he deserved. Someone so much more than a damaged gargoyle.
“Brenda does not have magic.”
“No, but Ric is a magical creature.” Bea looked at her kindly. “You were never mated were you, dear?”
The blush, which had just started to ebb, returned to her cheeks with the alacrity of Speedy Gonzalez – she’d just discovered cartoons. “No. Not with my defect.”
Bea clucked her tongue as her eyes roved over the scarred wing. “Times are different, and perhaps you have just not met the right man yet.” Her lips twitched into a small smile. “Perhaps Chris has not met the right woman either.”
Annis inhaled. What was she suggesting? Nothing, probably. The next moment Bea yawned wider than a bear and bid her good night.
No, it was nothing. Chris probably couldn’t bear to replace his perfect wife, and he certainly wouldn’t replace her with a gargoyle. That much was sure. She was unwanted in her past life, and would remain so now.
Chapter Eight
“Wakey, wakey.”
Chris groaned as soft fingers tickled his stomach. “Five more minutes.”
She giggled at him. A lot of his time with Mara now left a sour taste in his mouth, but in truth, they had their moments. The sweeter, quieter moments when he truly believed they were in love. This was one of them. The one he dreamed about. The morning where he didn’t want to get up, so he didn’t. For once, he played hooky from work, and they spent all day making love. That was the time he didn’t mind being irresponsible. It started with Mara tickling his chest hair, her smooth, supple body pressing against his. Completely hidden under the covers, her head bobbed, and her laughter taunted him as she kissed her way down his torso. He couldn’t pretend to be asleep for long. Finally, her laughter stopped as she found his manhood, engulfing him in her hot, wet mouth. He moaned as she took his length, caressing, and suckling at him as if her life depended on it. Their sex life was always glorious, and fleetingly he wondered what they would have without it, but he pushed that thought aside and just enjoyed the attention being laved upon him.
Abruptly she let him go, and her hand curled around his member.
Chris frowned. No, this wasn’t how the dream was supposed to go. He pulled at the covers, dragging them off her. But it wasn’t Mara. It was Annis. Her body was splayed between his legs, her tail dancing between his feet. Her wings framed her perfect, pink body, fluttering gently around her. Her breasts hung plump and peachy as she bent over his groin. Damn if the sight of her didn’t make him even harder. Annis looked up at him with startling purple eyes and swollen come-hither lips.
“Is this not what you want?”
Chris let out a yelp as he tumbled to the floor, tangled in bedsheets. After a fight with the bedclothes monster, he leaped to his feet and scanned the bed. Empty. Morning sunlight filtered through the room as he searched it, searching for any sign that the female gargoyle had been there. Nothing. The bedroom was the same as when he went to sleep. He didn’t know whether he should be disappointed or not.
It was a dream. Nothing more than a dream. Yet it had felt so real.
Chris grunted and flopped face down onto the bed. Strangely enough, his mood did not improve when Bob nosed his way into the room, leaped on the bed and promptly slumped on top of him.
“Thanks, Bob,” Chris mumbled.
With very little ease or grace, Chris managed to maneuver into a face-up position with Bob lying next to him, rather than on him – Bob was cute but no lightweight. Absently, Chris scratched the dog’s head.
He shouldn’t think of Annis that way. There was no future for them, and he doubted Annis was the type to go for one-night stands.
He shouldn’t consider her attractive. It was her own fault if he did. Dancing around in a bare slip of a skirt and a piece of cloth no larger than a handkerchief covering her breasts. Her tiny outfits perfectly showcased her slim figure, taut breasts, long legs and flat stomach with a tiny indented belly button. Not that he’d been looking or anything, but it was all on display – he couldn’t help but notice her. If Brenda had dared wear so little, he’d have tried to lock her in the house.
He was just horny. Obviously, that was all it was. It had been nearly two damn years since he had sex and he was starting to feel the pinch.
After Mara died, he dated, he slept with a few women, but although it gave him physical relief, he didn’t find it altogether satisfying. Perhaps his experience with Mara just soured relationships with women completely. But now… well, now he was starting to feel desire again.
But he couldn’t do anything with Annis. It wouldn’t work. Brenda and Kylie were fooling themselves if they thought they could have normal relationships. If there was one thing he’d learned, it was that he needed to be practical. He didn’t need to be in another relationship with someone unsuitable. He already went through that, with three months of coming home to an empty house, a wife doing and going wherever she wanted and rarely coming home at night. What might seem cute and fun while dating, soon becomes old in a marriage.
He didn’t need another letdown, and he definitely didn’t want to disappoint Annis. He needed to stay away from her. It was for their own good.
Chapter Nine
Annis brushed her hair and luxuriated in the silky smoothness. Conditioner – now there was something she adored about the modern world. Perhaps not as much as Ingrede, who declared she was in love with her shampoo – much to her mate’s jealous consternation – but she did adore it. That and showers. It was one thing to smell like a moldy river when the rest of your clan did, but when there was a multitude of fragrant body washes available, there was no excuse.
She surveyed herself in the mirror and wondered how humans saw her. Gargoyles saw her as weak and worthless, and most would never be able to see anything past her inability to fly or wield a battleax. She was overlooked on that alone.
If she asked Gracchus or Drago if they considered her pretty, she imagined the two males would be flummoxed at the question. Not that she would ever be so bold.
What would Chris say if she asked him?
Humans valued beauty hugely, almost as much as gargoyles valued the ability to let out a war cry or hurl an ax.
Annis had only felt stirrings for two males – Castor and Chris – and the two males were quite different. She could not say what it was that attracted her to either male. Perhaps it was because she had been little more than a youngling when her affection for Castor started to blossom. Perhaps it was just a folly of youth. But Chris was something else – there had to be something there.
Although timid and worried, she had thought the matter over while she slept, and decided that she wished to explore the attraction she felt for the human. If Ric was allowed to, why couldn’t she?
Her previous attraction had ended in disappointment, but that had technically been a thousand years ago. Surely it was time to try again.
With that in mind, she donned her favorite dress. It was a modified dress previously belonging to Kylie who said she was too shy t
o wear it – and Luc had also forbidden her from doing so. Annis wondered at his attitude. He seemed obsessed with not allowing another male to see Kylie’s body. Gargoyle males never cared about that. Indeed a lot of clans – like Drago’s - eschewed clothes and had no thought as to anyone looking at their naked females. Kylie rolled her eyes at Luc whenever he said something, but secretly, Annis suspected she enjoyed his boorish behavior.
Still, it was Annis’ gain. It was a purple halterneck dress with a low back for her wings, and, Maggie informed her, it also showed off her cleavage perfectly. Although that was not the way Maggie said it. She said ‘whoa, check out those bazongas’. She then explained and told her that apparently, human males found breasts attractive. To gargoyles, they were just means to feed their young during their first few days of life, but human males seemed to have a different opinion on the matter
Annis brushed her hair once more, enjoying the shine and softness. She donned some lipgloss – both for the cherry taste and the way it made her mouth look shiny – and prepared to do the scariest thing she ever had.
*
“Whoo-whoo!”
Chris arched an eyebrow as he looked at his niece. “What was that?”
“It was supposed to be a wolf whistle. I can’t whistle very well, so I just say the sound.”
“Ah.”
“But, seriously, you’re all dolled up.” Brenda looked him up and down approvingly. “Something going on at the mansion I don’t know about? Or are you just trying to make a good impression on the new gargoyle? Maggie texted me that she was home.”
“Yes, she texted me, too,” he muttered.
“Probably a good thing. Last time they brought one home you looked like you’d been living under your car for a month.”
Chris pulled on his watch and sighed. “I’d been working on my car, and it was just a little oil. But, I ah, I’m not going.”
Brenda blinked at him. “You’re not?”
“My life does not revolve around the gargoyles,” he said a little more sharply than intended.
